MOMOS

Greek Name

Μωμος

Transliteration

Mômos, Momus

Roman Name

Querella

Translation

Mockery, Blame

MOMOS (Momus) was the god or personified spirit (daimon) of mockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, complaint and harsh criticism. He was expelled by Zeus from heaven for ridiculing the gods. Momos' opposite number was Eupheme (Praise).

PARENTS

ENCYCLOPEDIA

MOMUS (Mômos), a son of Nyx, is a personification of mockery and censure. (Hes. Theog. 214.) Thus he is said to have censured in the man formed by Hephaestus, that a little door had not been left in his breast, so as to enable one to look into his secret thoughts. (Lucian, Hermotim. 20.) Aphrodite alone was, according to him, blameless. (Philostr. Ep. 21.)

Aesop, Fables 518 (from Babrius 59) (trans. Gibbs) (Greek fable C6th B.C.) :
"The story goes that Zeus, Poseidon and Athena were arguing about who could make something truly good. Zeus made the most excellent of all animals, man, while Athena made a house for people to live in, and, when it was his turn, Poseidon made a bull. Momos (Momus, Complaint) was selected to judge the competition, for he was still living among the gods at that time. Given that Momos was inclined to dislike them all, he immediately started to criticize the bull for not having eyes under his horns to let him take aim when he gored something; he criticized man for not having been given a window into his heart so that his neighbour could see what he was planning; and he criticized the house because it had not been made with iron wheels at its base, which would have made it possible for the owners of the house to move it from place to place when they went travelling."
[N.B. Parts of this fable are alluded to in Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 15.50--the absence of a window into the heart--and in Aristotle, Parts of Animals 3.2--the bull and his horns.]

Callimachus, Epigrams Fragment 393 :
"Momos (Mockery) himself used to write on the walls : ‘Kronos (Cronus) is wise.’"
[N.B. Kronos was the King of the Titanes deposed by Zeus. Momos is causing trouble with his mocking graffiti.]